


His Second Love

by its_a_meme



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, M/M, Nice Oikawa, Sad Sugawara Koushi, Slow Burn, Sugawara can't move on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26238751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_a_meme/pseuds/its_a_meme
Summary: Sugawara is in love with his best friend despite being rejected. He wants to move on, but he's scared to get hurt again. Oikawa offered him a shoulder to cry on, and a heart to hold.
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Sugawara Koushi, One Sided - Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

Everyone always assumed Daichi and Sugawara were dating. The two instantly became best friends when they met as first years, and have only grown closer as time passed. Only a month after they met, people began speculating of their relationship. Sugawara remembers when they were still first years and Asahi met them at their usual lunch spot, shaking as he asked if they were a couple. Daichi instantly became red and demanded Asahi tell him where he got the idea while Sugawara just laughed at the notion in the background. After that, Sugawara attached himself more to Daichi, just to see him blush as more and more rumors spread about the two. 

When they became second years, Sugawara realized that he enjoyed Daichi’s blushing face a little too much. His game became less fun then. He tried to distance himself from his best friend in order to get over his small crush and return to how they were before. Sugawara could only avoid him for 3 days before Daichi chased him and asked what he did wrong. Sugawara had never seen his friend look so dejected than when he thought he ruined their friendship. It was then Sugawara gave his first confession and received his first rejection. Daichi never treated him any different despite the confession, and their friendship only continued to grow stronger. The rejection should have made Sugawara move on, but Daichi’s kindness during and after only made his crush grow.

Now they are third years. Sugawara’s small crush has turned into love. Every one referring to them as the mom and dad of the volleyball team doesn’t help. Every time someone makes one of those jokes, Daichi laughs along, but he always looks at Sugawara to check that he is also fine with it. That also doesn’t help. Sugawara sighed as he layed in bed, thinking of what happened after practice today.

_ Everyone had just finished cleaning up. All that was left to do was put away the cart of volleyballs. Kageyama and Hinata were arguing about something, as always. Sugawara shook his head a little bit as he got ready to intervene. Suddenly, Kageyama pushes Hinata right into the cart, causing it to fall over and all the balls to roll out. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi weren’t paying attention as they got ready to head back into the club room. A ball rolled right in front of Yamaguchi and he fell over. _

_ “Hey idiots!” Tsukishima yelled at Kageyama and Hinata. “Why don’t you guys figure out how to have a civil conversation as to not subject the rest of us to your stupidity.” Tsukishima leaned down to help his childhood friend up. _

_ “Thanks Tsukki!” Yamaguchi said as he took his friend’s hand. The slight wince did not go unnoticed by Sugawara. _

_ “Yamaguchi, go sit down and I’ll check your ankle.” Sugawara said. Yamaguchi nodded and Tsukishima helped him over to the bench. As he examined his teammate’s ankle, he could hear Daichi yelling at the other 2 first years behind him. Sugawara looked up at Yamaguchi with a smile. “It looks like it’ll just bruise, but ice it and go to the doctor tomorrow just to be sure.” Yamagachi responded with a nod and quick thanks. _

_ As he stood back up to calm Daichi down, Tanaka and Nishinoya let out a loud laugh. Daichi quickly turned his anger to them and asked, “Please tell me what is funny about someone almost hurting two of his teammates?” _

_ The laughter instantly stopped and Tanaka looked nervously at Nishinoya. Either not noticing Daichi’s anger directed at him or not caring, Nishinoya said, “We weren’t laughing at that, we just thought it was funny how domestic you and Sugawara get. You get mad at us like a dad and Suga takes care of us like a mom. And then Ryu made some really funny names for you two.” Nishinoya then turned to Tanaka. “Tell them!” _

_ Looking a little less nervous now, Tanaka said, “Well, since Daichi is our dad and Sugawara is our mom… Dad-chi and Suga-mama.” _

_ The gym went silent for a few seconds as everyone thought about what Tanaka said. Sugawara can’t remember who broke the silence, but then everyone started laughing. Daichi shot Sugawara a quick look, and after seeing the smile on his best friend’s face, joined in with the laughter. _

_ Filled with much more confidence than before, Tanaka continued. “It’s even more perfect since everyone knows you two are dating!” _

_ With that, Sugawara’s face instantly fell and he found himself looking directly at Daichi. “Um,” Daichi began, “We- Suga and I, well, we’re not dating.” Silence flooded the gym again as everyone processed what their captain said. _

_ “WHAT!” Several people yelled out. Asahi awkwardly looked between his fellow third years, wondering if he should do something. _

_ Getting over his initial shock, Sugawara made his way over to Daichi before punching him in the arm. “Come on guys, did you think I couldn’t do better than Daichi!” He said with an awkward laugh. _

_ “Hey!” Daichi said with a pout as he looked at his best friend. _

_ With a wide smile on his face, Sugawara looked at everyone on the team. “It’s getting late, let's all call it a night and head home!” He then walked out of the gym, quickly followed by the rest of the team. Entering the clubroom, Sugawara grabbed his stuff and began heading out without changing back into his school uniform. Daichi grabbed his shoulder before he could exit the room and gave him a worrying look. Sugawara, still holding the smile from the gym, looked at Daichi and said, “I’m fine, just tired and ready to get home.” _

_ Daichi nodded before saying, “I’m sorry.” _

_ Sugawara didn’t respond. He pulled himself from Daichi’s grip and left the clubroom, walking home alone for the first time since he avoided his friend as a second year. _

Rolling on his side, Sugawara wondered what was wrong with him. Why can’t he get over this crush? Why did he have to fall for his best friend? And why didn’t Daichi feel the same way?  _ There must be something wrong with me _ , he thought to himself,  _ Daichi knows me better than anyone, and if he doesn’t love me than who’s to say anyone will. _

“Koushi!” Suga’s mom called, pulling him from these negative thoughts. “Can you pick up some things from the store for me real quick?”

“Yeah, give me a second to change and I’ll be right down!” Sugawara called back as he rolled out of bed.

“You still haven’t changed? What have you been doing?”

Sugawara chose to ignore his mom’s questions as he took off his Karasuno tracksuit and put on some gray shorts and a light blue t-shirt. He grabbed the short list from his mom, put on his sandals, and began his walk.

After a short walk, Sugawara made it to the store. As he was walking through the automatic doors, someone else was walking out. He stopped upon entering to turn around. The other person did the same as he exited, and Sugawara found himself facing Oikawa Tooru. Oikawa got over his shock and quickly placed a smirk on his face.

“Refreshing-kun~” Oikawa says in a sing-song voice. “What a surprise~”

Sugawara’s face fell to a slight frown. He was tired and didn’t want to deal with a rival captain tonight. “Oikawa.” He hopes the acknowledgement is enough as he turns back around.

“Hey, Refreshing-kun~” Oikawa starts, “that wasn’t very, well, refreshing.”

Sugawara sighs as he turns back to face Oikawa. “Did you need something?”

Oikawa’s expression changes into something more neutral as he asks, “Hey, is everything ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Oikawa’s face scrunches slightly at the question. “You just don’t seem like yourself.”

Sugawara sighs again. “And what do you know about how I usually am? You don’t know me.”

“I have been told I am very perceptive.” Oikawa flashes another smirk before dropping it again. “But seriously, do you want to talk?”

Sugawara drops his head slightly as he responds, “No offense, but why would I talk to you. We don’t know each other.”

“But we could know each other.”

Sugawara looks back up, confusion on his face. “What-”

“That came out weird,” Oikawa interrupts. “What I mean is, if you’re feeling down, you should talk to someone, or else it will affect your playing.”

“My… playing…?”

“I would hate for my rival to lose because he lost focus.” Oikawa responds, smirk fully returning to his face.

“Kageyama is your rival, not me.”

“You’re a setter,” Oikawa starts, “And all setters are my rivals.”

They stand in silence for a few seconds. Sugawara starts to shift uncomfortably before saying, “Well, I have some shopping to do, so I’ll see you around.” As he starts to turn he hears Oikawa call out, “Wait!” Suga turns back, staring at Oikawa as he waits for him to continue.

Oikawa sticks his hand out. “Your phone.”

“Why would I give you my phone?”

Oikawa rolls his eyes. “I’m giving you my number. In case you change your mind about wanting to talk.”

Sugawara silently passes his phone over and watches as the other punches his number in as a new contact. When he finishes, Oikawa slides the phone back.

“Feel free to text me about whatever's on your mind. Currently or in the future.”

“Alright, thanks.” Suga responds as he puts his phone back in his pocket.

“One more thing.”

Sugawara looks back up at Oikawa.

“You look good in blue.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After thinking it over, Sugawara decided to text Oikawa.

The next day, Sugawara can’t stop thinking about his exchange with the Seijoh captain. It was… weird. Why was a stranger worried about him? Granted, Oikawa was not a complete stranger, but they definitely were not friends. They were barely acquaintances. And now he has the other’s phone number. 

And what was that last part?  _ You look good in blue _ . Sugawara knows he didn’t look nearly as presentable as he usually likes to last night. He was still gross from practice and just threw on the nearest clean clothes in his room. But Oikawa said that he looked good.

Blushing slightly, Sugawara shook his head to remove all thoughts of Oikawa. They’re on rival teams, he probably just wants to get in his head.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

Sugawara looked up and saw Daichi standing next to him. With a small smile on his face, he responded, “I’m fine, why?”

“You didn’t look so good at the end of practice yesterday and then left quickly. Are you upset at what Tanaka said?”

With a mischievous grin, Sugawara said, “Daichi, you must think alot about yourself to think I still like you a year after getting rejected.”  _ Even though I do. _

Turning bright red, Daich stammered out, “I- I just thought- I wanted- Um-”

He was cut off by Suga’s loud laughter. “Come on Daichi, I’m just kidding.” His face relaxed back to a small smile. “Thanks, I really am fine.”  _ I’m not. _ “Now let's get back to practice.” Sugawara gave Daichi a hard slap on the back and then joined the rest of the team on the court.

\----------

Practice had continued as usual. There were no implications by the team that their captain and vice were together, and Sugawara was thankful for that. He’s tired of living with this crush that isn’t going anywhere, but how can he get over Daichi when he’s so  _ nice _ . He was so considerate of Suga’s feelings, even a year after rejecting him, making it really difficult to move on.

Sugawara thought about the number he received the night before. Oikawa did say he could text him whenever he wanted. But it felt pathetic to run to someone he isn’t even friends with to talk about love problems. But Oikawa did seem to be experienced in that department. He is always surrounded by girls, so surely if anyone knows how to move on, Oikawa does. But then he’s basically inviting a rival to make fun of him. Suga weighed the pros and cons of texting the Seijoh captain for a few minutes before deciding, fuck it. If Oikawa is a dick, Suga can just block him. And if he’s not, then Suga might finally be able to move on. Plus, there really is no one else he can talk to about this.

He can’t talk to Daichi, for obvious reasons. Asahi would just tell him to talk to Daichi. The rest of the team thought they were dating, so telling them his feelings would just make the situation more awkward than it already is. But Oikawa is detached from the situation, giving him an unbiased approach.

Before he could change his mind, Sugawara texted Oikawa.

**Hey**

**It’s Sugawara**

**I can still text you, right?**

Suga didn’t have time to lock his phone before he got a response.

**Refreshing-kun~**

**I thought you forgot about me ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚**

**Sorry**

**Wasn’t sure if you were just making fun of me or not**

**(๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)**

**I would never make fun of my favorite setter!**

**Who? Kageyama?**

**I’m offended you would think Tobio-chan is my favorite setter**

**Putting Tobio-chan aside**

**You texted me for a reason, right?**

Sugawara was starting to regret texting Oikawa, but he had come too far to back out now.

**…**

**How do you get over someone?**

**Romantically.**

**Hm does Refreshing-kun have a love interest?**

**Obviously not**

**Or I wouldn’t be asking you how to get over them**

**So you’re captain doesn’t feel the same way**

**Interesting**

**I didn’t mention Daichi**

**You didn’t have to**

**It’s obvious**

Reading Oikawa’s messages, Suga felt his face heating up. His crush is obvious? How many people knew?

**Since you know everything**

**How do I get over him?**

**If you want to fall out of love with someone quickly**

**You need to fall in love with someone else**

**So, a rebound?**

**Rebound sounds mean!**

**Just focus your attention on someone else**

**Eventually you’ll stop thinking about your captain**

**I don’t want to fall in love with someone else**

**I just want to get over Daichi**

**And you’ll get over him by moving on to someone else**

**Is that what you do?**

**I’ve never had to**

**Because I’ve never been in love**

Suga scrunched his face in confusion

**But you’re always surrounded by girls**

**And rumors of your girlfriends have even reached Karasuno**

**You don’t need to love someone to date them**

**Ah!**

**I’ve got it!**

**ヾ(＠^∇^＠)ノ**

**What?**

**Date me!**

**Use me to get over your captain**

**…**

**No.**

**Why not????**

**I’m an excellent boyfriend!**

**Is that why you have so many exes?**

**Mean!**

**Putting your rudeness aside**

**Come on!**

**It’ll be fun!**

**How will it be fun?**

**You’re cute.**

**I’m cute.**

**You’re single.**

**I’m single.**

**But I don’t like you**

**━(((;ﾟДﾟ)))━!!!**

**I didn’t mean it like that**

**I just**

**I don’t know you**

**But you will~**

**If you hate dating me, you can just break up with me**

**And like you said**

**We don’t know each other**

**So our break up won’t make anything awkward**

Sugawara read Oikawa’s texts a few times. He really had nothing to lose in this situation, and it’s not like either of them actually liked each other in that way, so neither of them we’re playing with the other’s heart.

**I have a question**

**Why are you willing to help me like this?**

**Like, what’s in it for you?**

**I get to know my favorite setter better!**

**And like I said**

**You don’t need to love someone to date them**

**…**

**Fine**

**I’ll date you**

**Just until I just over Daichi**

**.*♡*｡∞(〃 ω 〃)ﾟ∞｡*♡*.**

**Refreshing-kun!**

**I upgrade you to Kou-chan!**

**Oh?**

**Should I call you Tooru-chan?**

**Kou-chan~~~ don’t make me blush! (/ω＼)**

**Let me know when you’re free next!**

**For our first date!**

**Sunday?**

**Sunday it is!**

**Operation “Get Over Captain” is a go!**

**Haha**

**I’ll see you then :)**

**Goodnight**

**Gn!!!!**

Putting his phone down, Sugawara found himself blushing. He wasn’t expecting this development at all. He texted Oikawa to get over Daichi and now has a boyfriend? Wait. Oikawa Tooru was now his boyfriend. Aoba Johsai’s captain and setter was now his boyfriend. He was now dating one of their greatest rivals. Was this betrayal? Does he have to tell the team about this?

After a few seconds of thought, Suga decided telling the team was unnecessary. They haven’t even had their first date yet! And besides, it’s not like either of them actually liked each other. Eventually, either Suga will no longer love Daichi or Oikawa will get bored, and then they will break up with no hard feelings. And if there are, they are already rivals. 

Despite not being in love with Oikawa, Suga found himself getting excited for Sunday. He had never been on a date before, and this will be good practice for when he dates someone he actually likes. Suga thought about what Oikawa would plan for the two of them as he fell asleep, and for the first time in over a year, he didn’t dream of Daichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking so long to update.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suga and Oikawa's first date.

The rest of the week passed quickly as Suga anticipated his date with Oikawa. When Sunday finally came, Suga found himself stressing over something he didn’t think he would: what was he going to wear? Oikawa had planned the whole date, and he wasn’t giving Suga any clues for what they were going to do. He could wear just a t-shirt and joggers, but what if they went somewhere nice? And he could wear something nicer, but what if Oikawa just wanted to play volleyball? Pulling out his phone, he typed:

**What are we doing today?**

**Kou-chan!**

**What have I told you about spoilers!**

**Don’t worry, I promise you’ll like it~~~**

**Haha I’m not worried**

**But**

**What are you wearing?**

**Ooooh moving a little fast, aren’t we (//∇//)**

**Tooru-chan...**

**Fine**

**< (￣ー￣)>**

**Just a button-up and slacks**

**Oo taking me somewhere fancy?**

**Haha you’ll see ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡**

With the confirmation from Oikawa, Suga pulled out a pair of brown slacks, a white button-up, and a cream crewneck to layer on top. It was still casual, but could work for multiple situations. 

Looking in the mirror, Sugawara found himself second guessing his outfit.  _ It’s rather plain _ , he thought.  _ Oikawa is pretty flashy, so what if he judges me _ . Suga shook his head to remove those thoughts. It may be plain, but it’s what he is comfortable in. Plus, why is he working so hard to impress Oikawa? They’re dating, but it’s for fun, not for love. Suga checked his clock: 1:15. They were meeting at 1:30.  _ Crap _ .

\----------

After getting off the train, Sugawara scanned the crowd before finding Oikawa standing next to a column off to the side. Suga quickly made his way over to him.

“Oikawa! Sorry I’m late!” He called out, waving his arm.

Oikawa looked up and smiled. “Kou-chan! I was worried I got stood up.”

“Oh hush, I’m only,” Suga pulled out his phone to look at the time, “10 minutes late.”

Oikawa continued to smile as he watched Sugawara pull himself together.

“I am upset, you know?”

Suga looked up, slightly panicked. “What! Um-”

Oikawa held his hand up, stopping Suga from continuing. “I’ve been degraded from Tooru-chan to Oikawa!”

The tips of Suga’s ears turned pink as he said, “Oh, um, sorry. I wasn’t sure if that was just a texting thing or a in-person thing too.”

“Oh, treating me like your dirty little secret?” Oikawa teased.

“No! Sorry, Tooru-chan.”

Oikawa quietly laughed as he patted Suga’s head. “Come on, we have a schedule to keep up with!”

Oikawa reached his hand out. Suga stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Seeing the confusion, Oikawa reached and grabbed Suga’s hand and smiled, before pulling him out of the station. 

\----------

The first place they went was a small cafe. It was tucked away, and if Oikawa didn’t bring him there, Suga would have never known it existed. As the two walked in, Oikawa called out, “Hello!”

Suga got embarrassed by the loud explanation. He looked around, before realizing that they were the only two in the cafe. As he took in the interior, an older woman walked out. “Oikawa! You don’t have to make a statement every time you walk in.” Noticing Suga, she added, “Oh, it’s rare for you to bring someone, who is this?”

Oikawa held up their hands, still clasped together. “My boyfriend! Kou-chan!”

Suga gave the woman a slight bow as he said, “Hello, my name is Sugawara.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Suzuki. Now what can I get for you two?”

The couple ordered and moved to sit. Suzuki told them she would bring their drinks to their table, and they thanked her. 

“Tooru-chan…” Sugawara started.

“Yes?” Oikawa said as he looked up.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“What do you mean? Do you not like cafes?”

“That’s not it, Suzuki-san just seemed surprised that you would bring someone with you.”

“Ah,” Oikawa scratched the back of his head, “I like to come here for quiet and to focus. I wasn’t sure how public you wanted to make this date, so I decided to play it safe.”

Sugawara was shocked. He wasn’t expecting Oikawa to be this attentive to him. He continued to stare at his boyfriend as Suzuki dropped their drinks down and a plate with two cookies.

Oikawa looked up in confusion. “We didn’t order these,” he said as he gestured to the plate.

“Sugawara deserves something sweet if he puts up with you.” She deadpanned.

“Rude!”

Suzuki laughed as she walked into the backroom. Picking up his drink, a small smile appeared on Suga’s face. “Tooru-chan”

Oikawa stopped glared at the door Suzuki walked through to give his attention to Suga.

“Thanks, but we can go more public if you want.”

Oikawa looked a little shocked by that, before he beamed. “Just wait till you see what else I’ve planned!”

\----------

After the cafe, Oikawa pulled Sugawara to the movie theater. 

Suga looked up at his date. “What are we seeing?”

“Whatever you want.” Oikawa said as he stared at the poster for the newest alien movie. 

Giggling, Suga walked up to the counter and got two tickets for the alien movie. “Kou-chan! I was going to pay for that!” Oikawa called out.

“You paid at the cafe, so I’ve got this.”

Oikawa pouted before he responded, “Fine, but I’ll get the popcorn.”

The movie was better than Suga expected, he doesn’t usually watch much science fiction. He looked over to see what Oikawa thought, and let out a small laugh at the sight. You could practically see stars in Oikawa’s eyes throughout the whole film. While Suga didn’t think the movie was bad by any means, he definitely thought Oikawa was giving the film an overreaction. 

The credits began to roll and the couple walked out, hand in hand. Suga could tell Oikawa was eager to talk about the movie, so he asked, “What did you think?”

Oikawa instantly lit up, and began rambling about the film. “It was better than I expected! I love the design they did for the aliens, much more realistic than the typical alien design you usually see. And I loved the twist! All the teasers make it seem like the aliens were the villians, but then it turned out to be the humans!”

Suga giggled at his reaction. He would have never expected the number one setter in the prefecture to be such a nerd. Oikawa was pulled out of his rambling by Suga’s laughter. He grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, I’ve been looking forward to this movie for a while.”

Suga smiled up at him. “I can tell. If you wanted to see this one, you could have just said so instead of trying to conform to whatever I wanted to see.”

“Kou-chan! I usually don’t reveal this secret of mine on the first date!”

Suga’s smile grew. “Oh, you don’t want girls to see how big of a nerd you are?”

Oikawa smiled back as he said, “Don’t be rude!”

Suga lightly bumped shoulders against the other. “Come on, I want to see what else you have planned.”

\----------

The next place the couple went was the arcade. Suga had been a few times, but not enough to play any of the games confidently. Looking up at his date, he asked, “Looking to impress your date?”

Oikawa smirked in response before walking over to the crane game. “It’s not a date if you don’t have a prize to remember it by.”

Suga watched as Oikawa continued to feed the game coins and lose. He could tell the other was getting frustrated. 

“Tooru-chan, I don’t need anything.”

“But Kou-chan~~~~” Oikawa wined, “I’ve spent too much to give up now!”

Sugawara sighed as he pushed the other to the side. “Let me. Now which one do you want?”

Oikawa pointed to one in the back. Suga studied the location for a moment before he dropped his coin in the slot. It took a few seconds to get the claw to a place where Suga was happy, and then he clicked the button and watched it drop. The claw fell down, clamped around the plush Oikawa pointed to, pulled it up, and dropped it in the pick up area.

Suga smirked at his date as he reached down to pick it up. He handed it to Oikawa. “Here’s your prize to remember the date by.”

Oikawa blushed as he accepted it. “That was amazing! How did you do that!”

“We all have our talents,” Suga laughed.

Oikawa continued to blush as he looked around. Finding what he was looking for, he grabbed Suga’s hand again and pulled him to the other side of the room.

“One more thing before we go.” He said as he pulled Suga into the photo booth. 

Oikawa pulled the curtain behind them and pressed the button to start. Looking over, Suga saw Oikawa smiling and holding up a peace sign. He quickly mimicked the pose before the flash went off. For the second picture, Oikawa put his arm around the other’s shoulder and the two smiled normally. For the third, Oikawa kissed Suga’s cheek and the latter laughed in response. For the last picture, Oikawa rested his cheek on top of the other’s head. Before the flash could go off, Suga pulled his head away and grabbed Oikawa’s collar so he couldn’t move. Oikawa shifted his eyes in confusion before Suga planted a kiss on his cheek, to mimic the last photo. But unlike the last photo, Oikawa turned bright red instead of laughing.

Oikawa covered his face as Suga moved out of the photo booth. Suga reached to grab the two sets of photos the machine printed and hand Oikawa the first one as he looked at the other. Seeing Oikawa’s face in the last picture, Suga busted out laughing.

“Tooru-chan, I thought you were the suave one. What are you doing getting embarrassed.”

Instead of responding, Oikawa covered his face with one hand and reached for Suga’s hand with the other. Suga continued to laugh as Oikawa dragged him to the last stop of the day.

\----------

Carrying the plush and picture with one hand and holding Sugawara’s with the other, Oikawa entered the ramen shop.

“Hope you don’t mind ramen,” he said, “I come here sometimes with Iwa-chan so I know it's good.”

Suga just smiled as the two moved to sit down. The two quickly ordered and received their food.

“What did you get?” Oikawa asked. Rather than respond, Suga held out a bite, which Oikawa happily accepted. Just as quickly as he took the bite, Oikawa began chugging his water.

“You tricked me! What is that? It’s so spicy!”

Suga laughed in response. “I like spicy things, and you looked eager to try.” He said as he took a large bite.

Oikawa just stared at the other. “Keep your devil bowl over there.”

The two continued to eat in a comfortable silence. After spending nearly the entire day together, the couple was getting tired. Suga was surprised to find that he had as much fun as he did.

After eating, they walked to the train station together holding hands. Suga looked over at Oikawa as they walked. He wasn’t expecting to want to go on another date with the other as much as he did. Oikawa was nothing like what he thought he knew of the other. He was a huge nerd, first of all. But also, Oikawa continued to try and put Suga’s needs and wants before his own.

Suga blushed as he thought of the date. He was still in love with Daichi, but he could really see himself falling for Oikawa. A rush of dread quickly overwhelmed Suga as he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to actually fall for Oikawa. The other was just helping him till he got over Daichi. Right when he got over his best friend, Oikawa and him would just return to rivals.

“Kou-chan,” Oikawa said quietly, “are you alright?”

Suga was shocked Oikawa recognized his change in mood. He looked over at the other and gave a small smile. “Yeah, sorry, I just got tired.”

Oikawa noticed the smile was fake, but chose not to say anything. He returned the smile. “We’re almost to the train station.”

Reaching the station, the couple waited for Suga’s train together. As it arrived, Suga turned to say bye. When he did so, Suga found a hand on his cheek and Oikawa looking softly into his eyes. Moving slowly to give Suga plenty of time to move, Oikawa planted a short kiss on the other’s lips. “See you again soon, alright?”

Suga, now as red as Oikawa as earlier, just nodded in response as he backed into the train. Once he got on, he looked away quickly to recompse himself. After calming down, Suga looked back out the window to see Oikawa smiling and waving. He could feel his face warming up again, so looked away before embarrassing himself again. 

Suga’s phone ‘dinged’ and he looked down to see a message from Oikawa.

**Let me know when you get home, ok?**

He covered his face slightly with his phone.  _ Crap _ , he thought,  _ I might actually fall for him _ .

\----------

Oikawa giggled as he watched the train move out. He stood there until he couldn’t see the train anymore, and then turned to head home. As he walked out of the station, a teenage boy moved from behind a column.

He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and lifted it to his ear after clicking the name he was searching for. After a few rings, the person picked up.

**“Hello?”**

“Hey, you won’t believe what I just saw.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Suga has a small anxiety attack this chapter. If that makes you uncomfortable, please do not read. I focused on Suga's internal thoughts during that part, and I don't want that to stress anyone out.

Monday came and Suga woke up feeling lighter than he has felt in a long time. He hadn’t realized how much his crush on Daichi had been weighing him down over the years, and he finally feels like it’s possible to move on. He feels a little bad about using Oikawa like this, but it was the other's suggestion. Suga sent Oikawa a “good morning” text before getting ready for morning practice.

He, Daichi, and Asashi meet up at the same corner as they always do before heading to school. They talk about what they want to practice today, the upcoming tournament, and classroom topics that each of them are struggling with. As they walk up the stairs to the clubroom, they hear a lot of loud talking coming from it, though they can’t make out the muffled words. Ever since Daichi gave Tanaka a key to let Hinata and Kageyama in in the morning, more and more people have started coming earlier. 

When the three third years opened the door to the clubroom, everyone fell silent and looked up at them. Specifically at Suga. Suga tilted his head in confusion. It was odd to see all the second years here before the third years. “Are Hinata and Kageyama already practicing?” He asks the group. Tanaka and Nishinoya continued to stare at Suga like they were trying to solve a puzzle. It is unlikely that they even noticed that Suga asked a question. Kinoshita and Narita nervously flit their eyes between Suga and the ground, obviously wanting to stare but not wanting to be rude. Finally, Ennoshita speaks up with a nervous, “Y- yes!”

Daichi and Asahi could feel the tension in the room created by the second years between them and Sugawara. Getting annoyed, Daichi asked, “What are you all doing in here? And why are you staring at Suga?”

“We’re not staring!” Tanaka and Noya yell simultaneously.

Daichi slightly glares at them for a moment, before turning to Ennoshita. “Explain.”

Ennoshita sat silent for a few moments, weighing his options between getting yelled at by Daichi for telling the truth and possibly getting away with a lie. Finally, he responded with a shaky smile, “Tanaka was just telling us about something interesting he saw this weekend. We’ll go to the gym now.”

The second years try to leave the clubroom, but Daichi was blocking the door. “And what does that have to do with Suga?”

Ennoshita looks more nervous than he did before and rapidly looks between Tanaka, Suga, and Daichi. “Well, he saw someone who looked a lot like Suga, but he was doing something that Suga would never do, so we were just discussing if we thought it was Suga or not. But it’s over now, there’s no way he would ever do what not-Suga was doing. So the discussion is over now. Let's go practice!”

Most of the second years made it past Daichi, but before Tanaka could get out, Daichi grabbed the collar of his shirt. “What was this not-Suga doing that caused so much confusion?”

It was obvious to everyone in the room that Tanaka didn’t want to respond. He was looking everywhere except at Daichi and Suga. Eventually, his eyes met Asahi’s and he silently pleaded for help.

Asahi put his hand on the captain’s shoulder and said, “Daichi, they said it wasn’t actually Suga, so no harm done. Let’s just get ready for practice.”

Daichi let out a sigh. “Fine.” He turned to glare at Tanaka one last time. “There won’t be any weird rumors, correct?”

“Yup, no rumors here! Gotta go!” And Tanaka left the clubroom as quickly as he could. Suga stared at the door for a few seconds, wondering what his look-alike was doing that confused the second years so much.

“Suga, are you ok?” Daichi asked.

Turning back with a smile, he responded, “Yep!”

\----------

As practice went on, the second years slowly began acting as normal, but Suga was still curious about what they were talking about beforehand. Suga walked over to Tanaka and asked, “Would you spike some of my sets?” Tanaka looked a little nervous still from early, but he slowly relaxed and responded, “Sure!”

After a few sets, Tanaka was acting completely normal and it was like that morning never happened. They sat next to each other to take a water break. 

“So,” Suga started, looking at his water bottle, “What did my look-alike do that I would never do?”

Tanaka tensed at the question and continued looking forward. “Oh. Well. Yesterday I went into town to try a new restaurant with my sister, and when we got off the train, I saw someone who looked just like you kissing Oikawa.” Tanaka looked over to see Suga staring directly at him and looking a little pale. He waved his hands in front of him. “Don’t worry! I know that wasn’t you! Looking back, I’m not even sure if that was even Oikawa now. I was just so shocked that I immediately called Yuu and then he gathered the other second years this morning.”

Suga let out a nervous chuckle. “As long as you know that wasn’t me, that's fine. Don’t tell anyone else, I don’t need any weird rumors about me.”

“Yeah! I’ll confirm to the others that it wasn’t you!” Tanaka said as he walked across the gym to the other second years.

Suga continued to sit there. He wasn’t sure what expression he was wearing, but internally he was freaking out. He knows that he told Oikawa that they don’t have to be private, but he’s not ready to tell others about them yet. Not when he doesn’t even know his own feelings. And not when their dating is nothing more than a game. Maybe the date was a mistake. Maybe they should just end things now before either of them get hurt.

“-ga, Suga, Sugawara.” Suga is startled out of his thoughts. He turned to whoever is calling him and hoped he is masking his anxieties well.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“I could tell,” Daichi chuckled. He quickly stopped and looked at Suga with concern. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok? You look really pale and have been out of it for the last few minutes. You didn’t even notice practice ending.”

Suga looked around the gym to see it empty. He thought he had been sitting for a few seconds, but evidently it had been a lot longer.

Noticing his confusion, Daichi asked, “Hey, do you want me to take you home? Or at least to the nurses?”

“Don’t worry! I just zoned out a little. I must be more tired than I thought.” Suga stood up and reached down to help Daichi. “Come on, we don’t want to be late for class.”

\----------

Suga’s anxiety didn’t calm down during the day. If anything, it got worse. What if Tanaka realizes it was actually him kissing Oikawa? What if one of the second years let’s it slip to someone and a rumor is started through this? What if the rumor makes its way to Aoba Johsai and Oikawa finds out? What if Oikawa decides this was a mistake and leaves Suga in confusion? What if someone else saw?

By the time lunch rolled around, Suga was feeling too nauseous to move from his desk. “Are you ok?” One of his classmates asked, but he couldn’t respond without feeling like we was going to throw up. Towards the end of lunch, Suga finally felt like he could walk. He made his way to the door with his bag in hand. As he walked out, he saw Daichi and Asahi looking at him with concern.

“Suga! We missed you at lunch. We were just about to check-in on you.” Asahi said. 

Suga did his best to smile to assure his friends that nothing was wrong, but they could both see how fake it was. Daichi turned to Asahi. “I’m taking Suga home, I should be back by practice afterschool.”

Suga’s eyes got wide in a panic. “No! Don’t worry about me! I was heading home right now!”

Daichi grabbed the strap of his backpack and pulled him down the hall. “Come on, I’ll make sure you get home ok.”

Suga turned to Asahi for help, but the latter just waved and said, “I hope you feel better!”

\----------

The two walked towards Suga’s house side-by-side in silence. It was the first time Suga had felt uncomfortable in Daichi’s presence. Not even being rejected was this uncomfortable. Finally, Daichi decided to break the silence.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Normally, he would respond with an ‘I know.’ But Suga couldn’t tell Daichi everything. Not really. So he elected to keep his silence for the remainder of the walk.

When they reached Suga’s house, Daichi wished him a goodbye and to get better before turning to head back to school. Before he could leave, Suga pinched the back of his shirt to keep him there. Suga leaned his head into Daichi’s back so that his forehead rested between Daichi’s shoulder blades. 

“I’m sorry.” Suga whispered out, so quietly that Daichi could barely hear it under his own breathing. Silently, he turned around and wrapped Suga into a hug. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Neither knows how long they stood like that. Eventually, Daichi’s phone buzzed with Asahi asking if Suga made it home alright. He read it to himself and then turned back to Suga. “Are you going to be ok alone? Please don’t lie to me.”

Suga kept his head down and nodded. Daichi let out a sigh and pet the top of Suga’s head. “Get some sleep,” and he turned to make his way back to school. 

Suga continued to stand there for a few minutes. He felt pitiful. He was embarrassed. He doesn’t even know why he reacted that way. And to make matters worse, all it took was a walk home for his stupid crush to come back let it never started to leave. 

Trying to put himself back together, he made his way into his room and laid down on his bed. Pulling out his phone, he saw a few ‘get well soon’ messages from his teammates. Suga briefly wondered if he should tell Oikawa what happened today before shaking that thought out of his mind. They’re just dating for fun, not for emotions, so he doesn’t need to know. Also, Suga doesn’t know why, but he doesn’t want Oikawa to know they were seen on their date. 

His phone buzzed and he looked down to see Oikawa texted him about something Iwaizumi said to him asking for comfort. Suga let out a small laugh before sending Oikawa the comfort he knew the other was fishing for. He and Oikawa texted about nothing for a few minutes, and Suga didn’t even notice the tension wash out of his body.

Suga took a short nap and was woken up by his mom calling him down. He went downstairs and saw Daichi standing at the door.

“Here’s the school work you missed.” Daichi said as he passed a small stack of papers to Suga. When Suga took them, Daichi put his hand on the other’s shoulder. “You look better.”

“I just woke up from a nap. I guess I was just tired. Sorry for worrying you.”

Daichi smiled in response. “Don’t be sorry. I’ll always worry about you.”

Daichi wished Suga and his mom a good evening before leaving Suga more confused than he has been in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows Oikawa. He and Iwaizumi have a heart to heart.

Oikawa was confused. He thought his date with Suga this past Sunday had gone great, they even kissed at the end of it, but Suga’s texts have been… weird since then. He wasn’t being ignored, but the texts have been sparse and short. Granted, it was only Tuesday, so Suga could have just gotten busy. But normally, Suga would let him know.

Oikawa tried to think where he could have messed up.  _ Was the kiss too soon? No, Suga liked it at the time. What if he’s regretting it? No, who would regret a kiss with the great Oikawa. _

“Get up, class is over.”

Oikawa looked up to see Iwaizumi standing over him.  _ Should he ask him for advice? No, while his childhood friend has many talents, he falls short with love. _

“Don’t just stare at me! Come on, let's go to practice.” Iwaizumi reached for Oikawa’s elbow to pull him out of his seat.

They walked to the gym together in silence. Iwaizumi looked over at his best friend. He had never known Oikawa to be this quiet, especially not at school. He was even ignoring all the girls who tried to get his attention during their walk.

Iwaizumi let out a sigh, breaking the silence between them. “Fine, I’ll bite. What’s wrong?”

Oikawa looked over, face masked with an innocent smile. “Why would anything be wrong?”

Iwaizumi knows how difficult it is to get Oikawa to talk when he doesn’t want to. So if he wanted any answers he would have to guess. He tries to think back to anytime Oikawa had been weird lately. This past Sunday he skipped out on the third years’ study session they have every week. While out of the ordinary, nothing to raise concern about. He’s been looking down at his phone a lot these past few weeks. A new girlfriend? But Oikawa loves to parade his girlfriends around the gym to brag. Plus, Oikawa had been pretty reluctant to hang out with his fan club since the doctor okay-ed him to play volleyball again. So the last time he went out with anyone other than the team was before the Karasuno practice match.

“How’s Karasuno doing?” Iwaizumi asks, hoping that will bring the conversation somewhere. He saw a slight twitch on Oikawa’s face, barely noticeable unless you know him well.

“Why would I know how Karasuno is doing?”  _ So whatever is upsetting Oikawa is related to Karasuno. _

“I just remembered Kageyama asked you for advice not too long ago.”  _ No reaction from Kageyama? Interesting. _

“My life doesn’t revolve around my opponents.” Oikawa deadpanned.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Iwaizumi thought for a little bit. “I wonder if they’ll use their other setter more in the Spring Tournament.”  _ Ah, another twitch.  _ It looked like Oikawa was just going to ignore that comment, so he continued. “Shame Kageyama put him on the bench, he was pretty good when we played him. What was his name again?”

Oikawa took so long to respond, Iwaizumi thought it was going to be ignored again. “Sugawara.”

Iwaizumi saw his friend’s face soften as he said the other setter’s name.  _ Ah _ . “Sugawara, that’s right… cute name.”

With that, he watched Oikawa’s ears turn slightly pink. He wanted to try and get more out of the setter, but they had made it to the clubroom. Iwaizumi wasn’t mean enough to try and learn about Oikawa’s possible crush in front of their teammates, especially Makki and Mattsun. They would tease him the entire practice.

\----------

It was the end of the week now, and Oikawa had gotten worse. Their entire walk home, Oikawa was staring at his phone. He wasn’t even pretending to listen like he was earlier in the week. Iwaizumi decided to just rip off the bandaid.

“So how long have you liked Karasuno’s setter?”

Oikawa nearly dropped his phone in surprise. “Wha- What?! Why do you think that?”

Iwaizumi didn’t react to Oikawa’s mini outburst. He had expected that reaction. “Sugawara’s pretty cute. I didn’t think you’d go for a rival though.” He turned to look at his friend, noticing he stopped walking.

Iwaizumi had never seen Oikawa so red before. If any of his past girlfriend’s saw him now, they would cry. Oikawa didn’t look like he was going to talk about his crush without being guided, so Iwaizumi repeated, “So, how long have you liked Sugawara?”

Oikawa began to panic. “I don’t know where you got that idea. There’s no way I would like Kou-chan, at least not like that. Sure, he’s cute and caring, and he also is feisty at times, but he’s still a rival. Why did you even bring him up randomly. You know, you’ve been talking about Karasuno a lot recently. Are you sure you don’t like Kou-chan? Stop trying to push your crush on me Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi raised his hand to stop Oikawa’s rambling. “When did you start calling him ‘Kou-chan’?” He smirked.

The smirk stayed on his face as Iwaizumi watched Oikawa somehow get even more red. “You know, I don’t care if you like a guy or a rival. So just tell me the truth.”

Iwaizumi heard Oikawa mumble something, but couldn’t make it out. “What?”

“I like Kou-chan, alight!” Oikawa yelled.

“Was that so hard?” Iwaizumi lifted his hand to pat Oikawa’s head as he let out a pout. “Now tell me why you’ve been acting so weird.”

Oikawa looked away, obviously looking for an escape. Just as Iwaizumi knows how difficult it is to get Oikawa to talk when he doesn’t want to, Oikawa knows how difficult it is to get Iwaizumi to leave something alone when he gets curious. They’re both stubborn like that. Resigning to his fate, Oikawa deflated slightly. 

“I like Kou-chan… but Kou-chan likes someone else.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it!?” Oikawa shrieked, “I open up my heart to you and all you can say is ‘that's it’!?”

Iwaizumi looked away awkwardly. “With the way you’ve been acting, I thought you had been rejected or something.”

“I might as well have.”

“What?” Iwaizumi turned back to his best friend.

Now it was Oikawa’s turn to look away awkwardly. “Tell me.” Iwaizumi said with a grip on Oikawa’s shoulder. 

“Kou-chan wanted to move on from his crush, so I said he should date me till he no longer loved Da- I mean, his crush. We hung out last Sunday and I kissed him at the end. Since then, he’s been acting really weird and I think he’s regretting agreeing to date me.”

Iwaizumi stood in silence as he processed what Oikawa had told him. Oikawa and Sugawara are dating, but they’re also not? “Are you trying to get Sugawara to fall for you, or are you just getting his mind off his crush?”

“I wouldn’t mind if he fell for me,” Oikawa said with a sad smile “But Kou-chan doesn’t want to fall in love again, so I’m fine with him using me.”

All Iwaizumi could do is stare. “I didn’t think you could be selfless.”

“Mean!”

Iwaizumi laughed as the mood shifted into a lighter one. He stopped when he remembered something Oikawa said earlier. “You said Sugawara started acting weird after you kissed him?”

Oikawa nodded.

“Was it immediately after?”

Oikawa thought for a little bit. “No, we talked that night and some on Monday morning. It started after he texted me when he woke up.”

Iwaizumi thought for a second. “Do you think he might be falling for you?”

Oikawa’s blush came back at full force. “Wh- What?! There’s no way!”

“He probably thinks you’re just playing around with him, too.”

“What! But I’m helping him!”

“You’re also usually a shitty person.”

“Mean!”

Oikawa calmed down and began to stare at his feet. “Do you really think he might like me?”

“What do I know? I’ve never met him.”

“Then why did you even say anything!?”

Iwaizumi cupped Oikawa’s cheeks and lifted his face so they were making direct eye contact. “Because I don’t want you to give up.”

Oikawa pushed Iwaizumi’s hands off him and placed a cocky smirk on his face. “Have you ever known me to give up?”

Iwaizumi returned his smirk and hit his back. “Come over for dinner. You can stay the night.”

Oikawa let out a dramatic gasp. “Are you trying to make a move on me? I’m a taken man.”

“I’m texting Makki and Mattsun to come over. You text Sugawara and figure out when your next date is.”

“Why are you having Makki and Mattsun come over?”

“Because I don’t know how to plan a date and they’ll get offended when they find out later.” Iwaizumi shot his friend a mischievous grin. “Let’s make Sugawara fall in love with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!


End file.
